Canadians have done as they were told during the pandemic. They lined up for shots until the country had one of the developed world’s best vaccination rates; they endured some of North America’s longest lockdowns; and they’ve complied with a wide assortment of curfews and quarantines.
But even in a society known for its civility and deference to authority, many are reaching their limit.
Pent-up frustration and rage have burst into the downtown core of the nation’s capital, with hundreds of truckers and other protesters occupying Ottawa’s streets for nearly a week to oppose vaccine mandates. The group has been championed on Fox News and by Joe Rogan, Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Demonstrators have built makeshift shelters and collecting propane tanks, vowing to stay until vaccine mandates are lifted.
